2009-10-10, 12:38 AM
Blaine Wrote:[COLOR="Red"]Something GMSInfighter showed me on MSN.
I think the only real danger from H1N1 comes when you mix it with a different strain of flu. Otherwise it's the same flu with a bit of kick.[/COLOR]
Complete dumbass website. That kid doesn't understand the first thing about pathogenic virology.
Summary of my tl;dr post:
Influenza is one of the most highly volatile viruses in the world, capable of mutating at a rate faster than vaccines can be created. The H1N1 strain is a highly infectious strain with more moderate symptoms than the seasonal flu, in that it's capable of killing healthier people than the seasonal flu. But just because it seems meaningless now doesn't mean it can't [SIZE="5"]mutate[/SIZE] and become worse. If the virus mutates to something just as infectious, but with mortality rates around those of Ebola (one of the deadliest BSL-4 viruses in the world), then we're screwed - especially because it's winter in the Northern Hemisphere (the most populated hemisphere of the planet), and thus people spend more time indoors with one another - increasing the probability of infection.
What does it all mean? Again, if you're smart, you don't mess with influenza.