Swine Flu: Your Questions Answered
1. Is the swine flu outbreak in the United States winding down?
Not yet, say health officials. They still expect to see more cases, however with the warm weather on it's way and with the flu dying down in Mexico, it is reasonable to suspect that it will wind down in the US within the next few weeks
2. So does this mean 2009 H1N1 will be gone for good?
Not necessarily. Andrew Pekosz, associate professor of immunology and microbiology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health points out that the three outbreaks in the last century that were caused by new viruses started with a mild wave followed by more severe waves months later.
3. Will there be a vaccine for swine flu?
Scientists are working on it, but creating a new vaccine takes about 6 months. If a vaccine is available in the fall, public health officials say that not everyone will be encouraged to get it. Healthcare workers and those more susceptible to the virus would be first on the list.
4. Could there be a pandemic in the fall?
Health officials say that if there is a repeat in the fall it will most likely be nothing like 1918 pandemic, which killed more than half a million people in the United States. The 2009 H1N1 lacks a gene that is present in highly virulent flu viruses, such as the one in 1918.
For more answers to your questions, visit CNN
Not yet, say health officials. They still expect to see more cases, however with the warm weather on it's way and with the flu dying down in Mexico, it is reasonable to suspect that it will wind down in the US within the next few weeks
2. So does this mean 2009 H1N1 will be gone for good?
Not necessarily. Andrew Pekosz, associate professor of immunology and microbiology at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health points out that the three outbreaks in the last century that were caused by new viruses started with a mild wave followed by more severe waves months later.
3. Will there be a vaccine for swine flu?
Scientists are working on it, but creating a new vaccine takes about 6 months. If a vaccine is available in the fall, public health officials say that not everyone will be encouraged to get it. Healthcare workers and those more susceptible to the virus would be first on the list.
4. Could there be a pandemic in the fall?
Health officials say that if there is a repeat in the fall it will most likely be nothing like 1918 pandemic, which killed more than half a million people in the United States. The 2009 H1N1 lacks a gene that is present in highly virulent flu viruses, such as the one in 1918.
For more answers to your questions, visit CNN
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12:27 PM
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