Current statistics show that those most at risk of severe illness from swine flu include the following:
* People with diabetes at any stage.
* Pregnant women.
* Children under 5 years old.
* People with chronic kidney disease.
* People with chronic heart disease.
* Those with asthma.
* People with liver disease.
* Those with a suppressed immune system.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, acting deputy director for science and public health at the CDC, said that in the United States, the majority of those who had been hospitalized from swine flu were between the ages of 5 and 24 (62%) and over 55 years represented only 1%.
A new study tracking the epidemic in Mexico found that H1N1 flu affects people between the ages of 20 and 50 the most, with a higher death rate than other age groups.
The consensus of opinion seems to be that the virus is more likely to affect younger people than older people. Sir Liam Donaldson, the UK’s chief medical officer since 1998, has said that the flu strain is part animal (swine), part bird and part human, and that the human element had been in circulation in the past, with the a result that the immune systems of older people may offer some protection, in which case it could mean that priority will be given to younger people when a vaccine becomes available.
Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) as of July 6 show that there have been 94,512 cases and 429 deaths. It is more than likely that many more people have been infected but have not been included in the list because they did not seek medical attention.
swine flu parts
The idea is that contracting the H1N1 virus in its mild form may offer some protection in case a more virulent strain emerges in the winter. History shows that this happened in 1918 when a mild spring spurt was followed by two deadly waves that carried over into the following year.
Mumsnet founder Justine Roberts told the BBC Radio 4 Today program that she had heard rumors of “swine flu parties”.
“There’s a lot of discussion from people who have come to a fairly rational conclusion that it would be better to detect the virus now since we all think it could mutate into a more virulent strain in the coming winter.” she said.
Infectious disease specialists understand the reason for contracting the mild strain as a protective measure, but Dr. Anne Moscona, a flu specialist at Cornell University’s Weill Medical College, said a reporter for a women’s magazine had called her “to ask if mothers should have swine flu parties, like chicken pox parties.”
“I think it’s crazy,” Dr. Moscona said. “I can’t believe people are actually doing it. I understand the thought, but I’m afraid we don’t know enough about how this virus would react in each individual. This is like the Middle Ages, when people deliberately infected themselves with smallpox. It’s a vigilante vaccination: you know, taking immunity into your own hands.”
Maybe going out and trying to catch the virus in its early stages will only help it spread?