Swine flu

[MrsC]

The doctor in the Youtube simply says it was cultured in a laboratory, NOT manufactured. It's very easy to grow influenza in chicken eggs. This swine flu was cultured in the lab in order to characterise it so that a vaccine can be made from it.

Tamiflu is an antiviral, influenza is a virus, of course it works.

Correct me if I'm wrong but, why have a vaccine when the anti-viral Tamiflu works? Explain it to me

[FionaH]

I would rather have a vacinne that prevents or minimises a virus, than have to take anti viral drugs after catching something, wouldnt you? But if i DID catch it then anti viral drugs would be my best option.
At least I think thats how it goes

[Capsid]

Correct me if I'm wrong but, why have a vaccine when the anti-viral Tamiflu works? Explain it to me

A vaccine works by preventing the infection. Tamiflu works AFTER you have the infection. If we don't have enough Tamiflu then a vaccine would be needed too. By giving a vaccine then the virus will not be spread from person to person. Tamiflu won't do that as well since people may be infectious before they get treated with the antiviral.

[Samwise]

Haven't heard much on the news over the first few days but find myself checking the WHO website every few hours, not out of hyperchondriac-ness (almost definitely spelt wrong!) but out of curiosity, trying to guess which country will be next, is this sad? lol and Nog I don't think I'll get the jab til it's made either

[FionaH]

and Nog I don't think I'll get the jab til it's made either

Lol me niether

[di]

Sorry Mrs C,but that You Tube has been SO doctored to come across as what cynics want you to believe...my take on it...& you don't get much more cynical than me...is that they've cultured the virus in the lab,using the cultures/cells/whatever they use,from the virus that's already out there,in the hope they may find a cure!NOT that it originated from the lab...not very clever attempt by whoever made the tape to turn it into a conspiracy!!!Out of interest...why do you think it was made intentionally???
Without wanting to sound patronising,I learnt a while back that interesting as conspiracy theories may be,you can get far too hung up by them & probably never be able to prove they're right!
My view of Swine Flu remains the same...tragic that so many lives have been lost to it in Mexico,but at present it doesn't seem to be the pandemic that the media would have us believe...fingers crossed it won't be,but I sure as Hell ain't gonna waste my energies worrying about it....yet
One thing that would be interesting to know...something I've not heard on the news...How many people die of "normal" influenza each year?...Is the death rate higher in Mexico than it is in Britain?
I'm not being blaze about it,but why waste time worrying about something out of your control...also don't believe all the conspiracy theories...I'm sure some may have merit,but the majority are probably concieved in very bored minds with nowt better to do than stir things up!

[di]

Lol me niether

Yeah!!!...maybe best to wait!

[Samwise]

Capsid, as I'm doing a science degree, I'm interested to know whether they use viral DNA/RNA to analyse the virus and do you know if there are any job opportunties in that field?

[Spiderling]

Hi all. Well, whatever flu virus it is that I have at the moment, it's awful. Sore throat and ears, and everything hurts...even my hair. (yes I had my flu jab in October) I'm shivering one minute, then sweating buckets the next. I'm pleased to hear all these symptoms are the result of my body fighting the virus!! They must be having a fair old scrap cos I feel dreadful!! I'm not gonna make any cheap jokes cos I can't think of any......

[Capsid]

Capsid, as I'm doing a science degree, I'm interested to know whether they use viral DNA/RNA to analyse the virus and do you know if there are any job opportunties in that field?

I understand the virus is detected by real time PCR. If you are specifically interested in influenza diagnosis then you could try the HPA website.

HPA - Current Vacancies

PM me if you need any more information.

[Samwise]

Thanks, I'll definitely check that site out we've studied the influenza virus in it's various strains quite a lot and it has got me very interested in virology.

[Samwise]

For now I shall bid thee all goodnight, sleepiness has crept up on me and the dog needs air-lifting into to hall. Night Night

[hmk]

It's not that simple to be able to associate diet with good health. Infant mortality has decreased and life expectancy has increased since WWII.

I really shouldn't try and post sensible comments at silly o,clock in the morning.

My original post made it (slightly) clearer I was talking about general health/living conditions/medical developments etc etc at the time of the 1918 pandemic. Somebody else mentioned children being healthier and I agreed that their diet was healthier at the time of WWII for lots of reasons. I didn't make myself very clear, and it was a bit of a sweeping generalisation. But you do seem to be basically agreeing with my sentiment..

HMK

EEK, when I wrote this I had thought that the scientists were saying it was H1N1, didn't realize that H5N1 had reared its ugly head. That'll teach me for not watching telly. Looks like the old boy might have been right then. Though it probably did occur in a bird or pig in Asia, it's not so much a mutation as a re-assortment. Bit like pulling apart two lego bricks and sticking one of them onto another one of a pair that has also just been pulled apart - rubbish analogy, but you sort of get the idea. But, fundamentally, nothing in any of the bricks changes, they just make something different.... of course they'd have to be different colours or something and..... forget I started this.

LOL! DS will suddenly be more interested if he thinks Swine flu involves Lego!!

I do understand what you mean, but I think we may be talking at cross purposes.....Did you mean H5N1 in your original post, or H1N1, or....shall we just agree we think the same thing?

HMK

Correct me if I'm wrong but, why have a vaccine when the anti-viral Tamiflu works? Explain it to me

I quote from the gvt leaflet that has just landed on my doorstep-

"Anti-viral drugs are not a cure, but they help you to recover if taken within 48 hours of symptoms developing, by:

Relieving some of the symptoms

Reducing the length of time you are ill by around one day

Reducing the potential for serious complications, such as pneumonia "


And they stockpiled Tamiflu because we are statistically overdue a pandemic, as has been mentioned, but as nobody could/can (if this isn't the pandemic) predict what strain of flu virus would/will cause it. So the best that any gvt could do is make sure they have general drugs to help any type of flu. However, I understand the work done on the H5N1 (bird flu) strain will help develop a vaccine for this (H1N1) strain more quickly.

'Spect that's as clear as mud, but HTH,

HMK

[bluemoon]

HMK, I don't have a telly, read the newspapers or listen to the radio, what I know about this current outbreak I have read here or heard at work (I work with scientists so it's not just media gossip that I'm hearing, though to be honest it is their interpretation of media gossip) Anyway, I'd been given to understand that this current virus was a, identical to, or very similar to, the one which caused the 1918 pandemic and b, that it was a variant of H1N1. As I said my old professor was convinced that the 1918 virus was H5N1, but that he'd since been proved wrong, now I find that H5N1 is being cited as the virus which is behind the current outbreak - or at least that's what I understand it's saying on a government web-site.

[Capsid]

now I find that H5N1 is being cited as the virus which is behind the current outbreak - or at least that's what I understand it's saying on a government web-site.

No, it's H1N1 as you originally said.

2009 swine flu outbreak - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia