Health Spectator

Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) admits it: H1N1 swine flu is a mild disease for most people, but for those whom it hits hard, it is often fatal.

Approximately a third of those who die from the disease do so because of other complications—generally pneumonia or MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) so that the two primary killers once H1N1 gets involved are S. aureus and S. pneumoniae.¹ In part, this reflects the fact—reported here earlier²—that pandemic H1N1 tends to go deeper into the lungs than seasonal flu. According to Dr. Sherif Zaki, a pathologist at the CDC quoted in the November issue of Nature,³ this particular property of the virus is similar to H5N1 avian flu, a far more virulent form of flu that scientists have feared for years might take on a highly contagious human form.

The good news is that this particular scenario has been slow to develop in nature, and may prove difficult to replicate even in the lab. Researcher Bruno Lina at the Jean Merieux/INSERM biosecurity facility in Lyon, France proposes to try to force recombination of H1N1 and H5N1 in the lab and test the survivability and virulence of any resulting products. Based on some of his previous attempts to reassort H5N1 with seasonal H1N1 and H3N2 and the fact that the two viruses in question are different subtypes, he doesn’t expect to find reassortments that are survivable.

Referring to his previous experiments with reassorting H5N1, Lina told Nature, “After a year we only had three reassortments, and none was fit. They just don’t reassort well.”⁴

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Turkeys in Chile have been infected with the H1N1 pandemic swine flu, news services have confirmed. The good news is that the effects on the turkeys are mild; they will be processed as usual for their meat and should be safe to eat.

But the spread of swine flu to birds is a step we have not wanted to see, particularly at this early stage of the game before more humans have had the chance to develop an immunity to the disease themselves. Once the disease becomes widespread in birds, it would seem to be only a matter of time before a more virulent strain emerges that is increasingly fatal to humans. Avian flu has consistently been the most dangerous to humans, and having a strain of flu that has already started making the rounds in humans also spread to birds does not promise good things for the future.

Chile’s health ministry said earlier today that it ordered a quarantine of two turkey farms outside the port city of Valparaiso. Health Spectator has been unable so far to determine if there are pig farms in the area, but we suspect there are. Modern factory farming practices tend to cluster pig and poultry farms in close proximity to each other, and Chile has long been a member of the factory farming club. We have also located photographs of a huge Chilean pig farm operation with a caption indicating that it is owned by Super Pollo (a company name that means Super Chicken).

As we noted in a story published earlier today (Factory farming is key to swine flu epidemic, below) factory farming practices have created a global situation in which new diseases evolve and spread more rapidly than previously possible, endangering both human and livestock populations.

Also earlier today, University of Missouri agricultural economist Ronald L. Plain said that since April, when the flu outbreak was first recognized in Mexico, hog producers have lost $500 million in revenue just because of the monniker “swine flu.”

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Americans will have some serious thinking to do as the time approaches to get vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu, which is expected to resume its ravages here in the fall.

On the one hand, judging by the flu’s sojourn in South America, it could be getting worse. It has infected turkeys in Chile, which is not a good sign. The flu could pick up virulence if it combines with one of the nastier bird flus such as H5N1, which has been making the round of flocks in Asia.

So all we need is a bit of commerce between Asia and South America—or for that matter, simply someone coming into contact with birds in both places—and we could be seeing a nastier version of the bug coming at us once the leaves are gone.

On the other hand, the vaccine itself would appear to have little to recommend it.

In America we tend to put immense faith in these meager protections offered up by the health care industry. We just assume—until proven otherwise—that flu vaccines work and are outraged when presented with evidence that they do not. And we are all the more outraged when we or one of our loved ones winds up stricken with some unforeseen illness resulting from their use, some of which can be life changing—such as Guillain-Barré, for example.

Guillain-Barré syndrome is one of those afflictions you can live without—believe me. At its most severe, it kills by paralysis—the victim is simply unable to breathe. Given prompt care (and, if indicated, the use of a ventilator) one has the possibility of full recovery—or not. Some patients end up quadriplegics, some with the partial use of their legs—it all depends. On what, no one knows.

Unfortunately, the way the game is played, at the first sign of a possible epdemic—pandemic, in this case—the Health and Human Services (HHS) Department has the option of providing incentives to drug companies for developing vaccines. There’s the rub.

In this case, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sibelius gave it all away at the first breath of national emergency: there will be no penalities for drug firms who kill or maim either with the swine flu antigen itself or with the accompanying adjuvant. Unless you can prove they deliberately tried to kill your child or loved one, you can’t touch them.

Good luck with that.

So, the full responsibility for whatever happens will be on you. No one to sue, no recourse. And unless by some miracle the Democrats grow a sense of purpose and actually push through a single-payer healthcare package, your insurance probably won’t cover the consequences, either. So you’re on your own.

Better weigh the known severity of the flu carefully before even considering that shot. Unless it starts killing a sizable percentage of those afflicted and you happen to fall into a category that is particularly vulnerable, taking a pass may be the best option.

Even if you catch the flu, chances are it will be no worse than flus you have had in the past—an unpleasant experience for several days, perhaps even a few weeks—but then, forgotten.

At present, despite seemingly high numbers, the flu has not really been all that virulent. We’ve seen 522 confirmed deaths in the U.S. as of August 20, but given more than a million estimated cases, that isn’t a huge number.

We personally have little faith in a rapidly devised vaccine for which the manufacturers aren’t willing to take full responsibility. Most of the swine flu vaccines we’re being promised will employ adjuvants (additives designed to inflame your immune system to heighten immune response) that are either already known to be dangerous or have not been approved by the FDA for regular use. They’re permitted only under the emergency provisions of HHS/FDA regulations.

So paying close attention to your diet—lots of fresh organic vegetables, wild-caught fish and pasture-grazed meats—should keep you at your best. Make sure you take adequate vitamins A, C, D, B6, magnesium, zinc and selenium. (For men especially, don’t overdue the selenium.) A healthy immune system is always your best response to the possibility of infection.

Remember that vaccines, in the end, do nothing more than use your immune system to prevent disease.

We think nature’s way of going about that may be just as good or better.

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The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 28-year-old female from Tabanan District, in Bali Province, developed flu symptoms on August 14, was hospitalized on August 18, then died in hospital on August 21. She was a poultry trader.

Case investigators found that she collected poultry from villages where outbreaks of avian influenza had occurred.

Of the 105 cases confirmed to date in Indonesia, 84 have been fatal.

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The first death in the U.S. from swine flu was a Mexican toddler whose family was visiting in Texas. Now the disease has claimed the life of a U.S. citizen as well, that of 33-year-old teacher Judy Trunnell of Cameron County, Texas. Cameron County is on the Mexico border. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Trunnell suffered from “chronic underlying health conditions.” The 22-month-old Mexican child was similarly reported to be suffering from health complications. (more…)

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