Are people over 60 resistant to swine flu Swine
flu is a brand-new disease; but scientists have come quite a way in the
one month that the disease has been around, but they do not know
everything they need to about it. There is reason to believe today that
people in the population over the age of 60 might possibly be less
vulnerable to swine flu than younger people. People over 60 are
expected to have been exposed to viruses from flu outbreaks in earlier
times; this is expected to make them immunologically more resistant to
swine flu.
Tests undertaken by the CDC on hundreds of senior citizens showed that
a third of all people over 60 have antibodies in their system that
appeared to grant them some protection against the new swine flu. These
are preliminary
findings; the laboratory tests obviously did not actually expose those
people to the swine flu going about now. They were exposed to a lesser
virus that is related to the current swine flu. For the reason that
these tests are not the real thing, people over 60 are asked to always
exercise the same kind of precautions that everyone else does.
Yet the study does bring to us important information: older people who
are known to have been exposed to previous flu outbreaks certainly do
have some antibodies that normal people do not have. How useful these
anti-bodies will be in a real world flu epidemic, remains to be seen.
These tests may help to explain why it is that the current swine flu
outbreak appears to target only children and young people. Only one in
100 swine flu cases in the US happens to be in a person who is over 60.
It is conjectured that seniors with immunity might have been around
when swine flu viruses from the 1918 pandemic were still in the air.
The 1918 swine flu virus has however, had nearly a century to adapt and
mutate to new forms. The new virus therefore, is not the same as the
old one, and seniors who have antibodies to the old virus have limited
if not total protection against the new swine flu virus.
What might be surprising is that a section of the population that is
usually considered the most vulnerable, might be more resistant when
the population that is in its prime is severely at risk. Antibodies
then, are the reason. A vaccine that introduces antibodies into the
body to help prepare against swine flu, does not exist yet, and will
not for a few months longer. Vaccines that are used against normal
seasonal flu also, offer no protection against swine flu. Some people,
in a misguided attempt to gain antibodies, organize what they call
swine flu parties. A friend with a mild infection of the swine flu is
called to a party that many people attend; the hope is that they can
catch this mild swine flu disease that the friend has, and come out of
the illnesss quickly, with resistance to any serious attack that swine
flu might otherwise bring them. The CDC announces that this is a
dangerous idea that can expose people to a terrible
infection.
Swine Flu Ohio
The new virus was first detected in US citizens about a month ago in April 2009.
Their philosophy is that aggressively tackling the disease before it even begins to establish itsel, is the best way to make sure it does not take root. If matters become much worse than they are now in both the reach of the flu and severity, the WHO believes that a pandemic declaration would be in order. Swine flu however, gives people the additional afflictions of diarrhea and nausea.
It is hoped that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can have a final version ready to deliver to pharmaceutical companies around the world soon, to help them begin manufacturing vaccines for use in hospitals.
The government is now allocating billion to put behind the swine flu vaccine program to bankroll clinical studies that need to be done before a vaccine can be placed on the market. So for now, Mexico is about the only country that has thrown its weight behind this device. That flu pandemic, however, occurred before antibiotics were discovered.
In the UK, medical professionals, doctors, nurses and orderlies are required to wear these masks and gloves in addition when working with swine flu patients; the government is known to have ordered millions of these masks and gloves.
The tourism industry keeps Cancun alive; when it was dollars stop coming in, industries that depend on the buying power of tourists and locals enriched by tourists, all grind to a halt. Stay tuned for more information as things clear up with time. There have been hundreds of new cases reported recently. |