Six Months Later

Well, folks, it’s been a while since the pandemic started.  Those who carefully follow the news via flu sites, blogs and so on, realize that it wasn’t a phony pandemic, fizzle, or hoax.  Actually more people in the US died from this flu (so far) than usually die during a regular flu season, although the main stream media is careful not to make this well known.

How Many Have Died?

Swine flu H1N1 – has killed (according to the CDC) an estimated 17,000 Americans – so far, including five times more children than usual.  And it is not over.  Actually, all their figures are approximate, as not much testing was done, and many of the available tests are not very accurate anyway.  The standard talking point of “this flu is mild mild mild” seems to have been lost by the wayside; this flu is NOT mild.  Some people get it and don’t get very sick, many get extremely sick, and more people than usual – and much younger people – die.  Some quickly, some after weeks or months of suffering in hospitals.  Some people will never regain their full capacity or health.  Time will tell how many and to what extent.  Since swine H1N1 can affect the central nervous system, harm the kidneys and heart as well as lungs, and may be connected with low immune system response (one immunoglobulin factor appears to be low in a number of people who have had swine H1N1), people can have long term problems including exhaustion, lung congestion and weakness, heart weakness, even paralysis.  Some people are requiring months or even a year of rehabilitation to learn how to walk and feed themselves.

Another “funny” thing is the CDC quietly admitted that their oft-repeated slogan that “36,000 people die a year from flu” is wrong.  They very quietly announced that around 8,000 people die a year from flu; although the figures they have given to the American Lung Association show about 2,000 flu deaths a year, and most of these deaths are 60 to 65 and older.  At any rate, the “36,000 flu deaths a year” is an invented number that they are now distancing themselves from.

Increase in Flu in the South East

Right now, the South East of the US is experiencing an increase in swine flu cases, a spike in numbers, according to the CDC.  In fact, the CDC says there is a spike in flu hospitalizations in Georgia similar to September 2009.   There is now talk of a third wave on the way (shortly after soothing noises of “there may not be another wave etc” were heard daily).  I personally don’t think it is a third wave, I call it a second wave, as the so-called second wave was just the first wave that was interrupted by schools closing for summer vacation.  But whether it’s the second or third doesn’t matter; the important thing is that more swine flu is on the way.  Some areas of Texas have had steady numbers of flu hospitalizations for some time; Alabama and Tennesse have seen increases as well as North and South Carolina.

Just today, the CDC announced that the “vast majority” of flu patients in Georgia currently “were vaccinated”.  Since a majority can be anywhere upwards of 51%, this very non-specific figure admits that some (anywhere from 49% downward) of people with serious cases of few were indeed vaccinated.  There have been documented cases as well as many andecdotal stories of people getting swine flu after getting vaccinated, as well as getting the flu twice.

Any Changes in the Flu?
The CDC keeps saying that “no mutations” have occurred (taking the place of “it’s mild”) so as to not frighten the “helpless” populace.  But mutations in flu are always occurring (isn’t that why they say a new vaccine is needed every year, because flu viruses change all the time?), and experts who look at the flu virus sequences are very concerned about several changes.  One, there are more and more cases showing increasing Tamiflu resistance, and since Tamiflu is pretty much the only pharmaceutical drug that stops influenza viruses from replicating, this is very serious.  Other changes that are occurring that allow the flu virus to replicate deeper in the lungs, which causes much more serious illness and death.  There are also changes that indicate that the flu will be more easily spread as well.

Another interesting development is that Viet Nam has been experiencing a marked increase in human cases of H5N1 – bird flu – with more fatalities in the last 3 months than in all of last year. Researchers in Viet Nam warn that there are seven different strains of H5N1 circulating right now, some more dangerous than others, and are worried – along with some at the WHO – that H5N1 may mix with swine H1N1 and create a flu that is more easily transmissible than H5N1, and more severe than swine H1N1.  Time will tell.

Since no one can know the future absolutely, no one can say what this flu will do. But it looks as though another wave is on the way, and it may very well be more serious than what we’ve seen so far.

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