H1N1 Virus

[Anne]

See picture following (I hope).

[Anne]

Does anyone know how I can make this jpg picture of the virus appear in this thread?  When I drag and drop, it goes to a new window and the "Post Reply" window I was/am trying to put it on, completely disappears!  If I try copy/paste, it starts out fine with the "copy" and it says copy/paste.  However, when I try to "paste" it to the Post Reply window, the "paste" changes to "delete."

If anyone has any ideas, I would be happy to email the picture.  It works just fine in email.

[SonicMan46]

Hello Anne - not sure 'which' picture of this virus you want to show, but I inserted one that has appeared in a number of newspapers I've read & on a number of websites - is that the one?

If you have the image in an e-mail, then you have 2 options:  1) you can save the image to your hard drive and then use the 'Additional Options' choice to attach to your message; or 2) you can upload the pic to an image site (I use SmugMug); once uploaded, simply right-click on the image & select properties; copy the URL into your message using the 'imaging icon' provided - good luck!  Dave 

[Anne]

Dave, thank you for the picture and the info.  I will send you the email as I have some comments but am unsure whether I remembered them correctly from a picture 2+ weeks ago.  That picture's parts were labeled.

[SonicMan46]

Today, Anne sent me an e-mail w/ a photo attached (which is shown below) of the swine flu virus (kind of a pretty picture but so deceiving!) - this virus is a combination of genetic material from various origins, i.e. swine, avian, & human sources - quite fascinating - notice that these components have different appearances; now I could not find a similar image w/ labelling although Anne said she had seen one; not being a virologist (a radiologist instead), I cannot make a specific ID of these components - but, for those who are interested, I'm sure some more 'googling' searching might help - thanks to Anne for the photo and any future help!  Dave 

[Anne]

Hello Anne - not sure 'which' picture of this virus you want to show, but I inserted one that has appeared in a number of newspapers I've read & on a number of websites - is that the one?

If you have the image in an e-mail, then you have 2 options:  1) you can save the image to your hard drive and then use the 'Additional Options' choice to attach to your message; or 2) you can upload the pic to an image site (I use SmugMug); once uploaded, simply right-click on the image & select properties; copy the URL into your message using the 'imaging icon' provided - good luck!  Dave 

Dave, thanks for the help.  That picture owes its existence on this board to you!  In comparing it to the picture you posted, there are similarities yet a lot of differences.  If I look closely at yours, I can see those circles with the bands around them.  I guess I had thought that a picture of the virus would always look the same but obviously it doesn't.

I will try to Google something and hopefully produce some info of value.  Thanks again!

[Bogey]

A school less than a mile from our house closed for a week due to a confirmed case of the Swine....is this the next bug due to come through?

[Anne]

I think the answer is - yes!  Authorities are carefully noting any case of the swine, aka N1H1, flu. It is in many countries now all over the world.  Except for Mexico where there were 48 deaths, the swine flu has been rather mild with few deaths.  That is comforting to many people.  It has now been reported more times than I feel comfortable that a number of deaths occurred in people who also had diabetes and lung problems.  (I have both.)

In 1918 - 1919 the flu came around in the spring and, like the swine flu is at the moment, was quite mild.  In the fall, however, it had mutated to a different form (a specialty of viruses) and it returned with a vengeance and ultimately killed 40,000,000 people worldwide.  Authorities are watching this flu closely hoping to stay ahead of it using quarantines and isolation as some of the defenses against it.  There are also 2 vaccines available, Tamiflu and Relenza.  Both work best if taken within 2 days of the onset of symptoms.  Unfortunately N1H1 has a long incubation period of 5-7 days before symptoms are noticed.  I believe the CDC has already started "seed batches" of the N1H1 virus which the companies who would be manufacturing new vaccine would need to start production.

WHO (World Health Organization) located in Switzerland has 6 steps a virus must cause to occur before it will say the situation is a pandemic.  At this point WHO says we are at step 5.  A pandemic is larger, by far, than an epidemic.  An epidemic might involve perhaps one country whereas a pandemic would involve three or more countries.  I hope that's right.  The Black Plague was a pandemic.  There are some good books about it if anyone is interested.  There is also a very good book about the 1918 pandemic.  If anyone wants them, I could give you link to the books at Amazon.  They are all paperbacks.

As you can tell, I am quite interested in this subject.  Consequently, as I have read many news articles on it, I have taken a few notes of the basic, practical things we would need to know if the flu came tomorrow.  Tomorrow I'll post them.

[Guido]

The world expert on flu epidemics, who just happens to be a research fellow at my college in Cambridge, thinks that this will be an epidemic far more like the 1958 or 1967 epidemics which only killed around 2-3 million each (I know its still a lot, but it is few compared to the 1918 one). To put it in perspective - 500,000 die of 'normal' flu worldwide every year.

[drogulus]

     Anne, my boss has diabetes (only recently diagnosed) and I'm a little worried about him. Do you know anything about possible vaccine developments?

[SonicMan46]

Dave, thanks for the help.  That picture owes its existence on this board to you!  In comparing it to the picture you posted, there are similarities yet a lot of differences.  If I look closely at yours, I can see those circles with the bands around them.  I guess I had thought that a picture of the virus would always look the same but obviously it doesn't.

Hi Anne - plenty of different looking pics of this 'virus' on the web, particularly at the CDC Website, i.e. Centers for Disease Control, which offers plenty of updated information on this 'new' flu virus - take a look for those interested.

I'm not sure if the differences in appearance of the viruses shown relates to their different origin (which I would suspect), nature of preparing the material for examination & photography, and/or possibly the viability of the various particles shown?  Hope that your 'research' will help to explain these differences - 

Concerning drugs & vaccines, the CDC site has specific information on which anti-viral drugs that are potentially effective against this particular virus; vaccines are being studied at the moment and likely will take a number of months before release, but 'who knows' this development can always be  acclerated!

Diabetes is a common problem for many and varies considerably in its severity, method of treatment, and potential complications; many patients w/ diabetes can be well controlled w/ weight loss & diet, and may have little if any potential increased risk w/ flu compared to 'normal' people; OTOH, severe diabetes that is poorly controlled w/ multiple complications can certainly predispose those patients to much more severe effects of infections & their complications, including pneumonia.  Of course, many diabetic patients fall between these extremes -    Dave

[Anne]

     Anne, my boss has diabetes (only recently diagnosed) and I'm a little worried about him. Do you know anything about possible vaccine developments?

I wish I did but I don't know.  I have only been recently diagnosed with diabetes.  I'll let you know if I find anything and would appreciate it if you would let me know also.

[Anne]

The world expert on flu epidemics, who just happens to be a research fellow at my college in Cambridge, thinks that this will be an epidemic far more like the 1958 or 1967 epidemics which only killed around 2-3 million each (I know its still a lot, but it is few compared to the 1918 one). To put it in perspective - 500,000 die of 'normal' flu worldwide every year.

Thanks, Guido.  If he happens to talk about the swine flu again, would you let us know what he says?

[Anne]

I would like to say that I am NOT a doctor, nurse, or in any way a medical person.  These are just notes taken as I read articles on AOL news.


Antiviral drugs so far:
Relenza by Glaxo Smith Kline
Tamiflu by Roche AG
Both work best when taken within 2 days of onset of symptoms.

H1N1 has long incubation period:  5 - 7 days

H1N1 symptoms:
Lethargy
Lack of appetite
Runny nose
Fever
Swollen tonsils
Bad cough
Sore throat
Signs of severe symptoms - go to a hospital asap.
Struggle to breathe
Pneumonia
Collapsed lung
It is primarily a respiratory illness but there may also be:
Nausea
Diarrhea

Tips for containing H1N1:
If have symptoms, stay home and don't return until 2 days after symptoms are gone.  Children take longer  than 2 days to shed the flu virus after the symptoms are gone, like maybe 4 or 5 days.
Best situation would be bedroom with its own bathroom.  Stay in that bedroom with the door shut.
Wash hands often
Cover mouth when sneeze or cough
Go to hospital if have severe symptoms such as having difficulty breathing.
If symptoms are mild, stay home.

H1N1 (Swine flu) is confined to the respiratory tract
H5N1 (Avian [bird] flu) infects blood, organs, tissue

[Sef]

Best to steer clear of this behaviour then.