Posted by
reasonmclucus on Monday, May 04, 2009 4:00:52 PM
The current strain of the H1N1 virus needs a better name than
the "swine flu". The name has been used before for an over
rated flu strain and doesn't accurately describe the current
virus. The virus is a new strain and needs a new
name.
Calling it the "Y2009" virus would provide a unique name to separate it
from past virures. Perhaps the "Y2K+9" virus would be more
appropriate in the Twitter era.
The new strain of H1N1 virus was initially called "swine flu" because
it contained genes often found in viral strains that occur in North
American swine. A more detailed analysis indicated that other
viral genes were also present including genes from European and Asian
swine viruses as well as genes from avian and human viruses.
Scientists call this combination a
"quadruple
reassortment virus".
The term "swine flu" was used for what turned out to be a
relatively mild form of the flu in 1976. In fact the cure
was deadlier than the disease including 3 deaths in Pittsburg among
elderly people who received a vaccine to prevent it. "The
swine flu case of 1976 forever
reduced confidence
in public health
pronouncements from the government and helped foster cynicism about
federal policy makers...."
Using the term for this version of the flu could be leading many to
believe that this flu isn't any worse than that one. Health
officials became concerned in 1976 because of a few deaths, but
the subsequent projected death toll didn't happen.
Calling the flu "swine flu" misleads people into thinking it is
transmitted by pork instead of people. Even if it were in pork,
cooking the pork would get rid of it. The biggest concern in
eating should be about the possibility of someone handling the food who
has the flu.
The Spanish flu of 1918-1919 may have killed as many as 50
million Since then health officials have become concerned
anytime a new version of the flu has appeared.
The deaths in Mexico could indicate a dangerous disease, or they
could result from weak immune systems or not having been
exposed to forms of the flu than the flu itself. The
variety of different genes in the virus strain and the fact they come
from different parts of the world could indicate the flu strain was
brought in by an international traveler.
The diversity of the genetic makeup of the virus might also indicate it
is an artificially created virus. The Obama administration has
downplayed the idea that terrorists might have created the virus, but
the decision to have Homeland Security play a prominent role in
communications with the media indicates administration officials
believe the virus might be a terrorist act. If it is an
artifically created virus, it might be more likely that it is a
laboratory experiment that entered the general population because of
carelessness.