Everyone has heard of H1N1 Flu, better known as "Swine Flu". Years ago it was completely unheard of but not any longer. Once a disease only related only to pigs, is now a worldwide issue. Fear of it becoming a pandemic, H1N1 Flu is spreaing like wild fire. This year, the Swine Flu virus may cause a more dangerous flu season with a lot more people getting sick, being hospitalized and dying than during a regular flu season. H1N1 is a new virus first seen in the United States. It is contagious and can spread from person to person.
With the current flu situation people are working harder then ever to stop the spread of the virus before prime flu season. Recently a vaccine came out, but the succes of it is not yet known. It could be sucessful and make a big differnce in this years flu season or it could be a fail, yet people are being advised to get the injection anyways. People being strongly advised to get the vaccine are, pregnant women, caregivers for children under 6 months of age, health care workers, and people of any age who have bad health conditions because these people are all at high risk of having complications if they are to get H1N1. Since the injection is so new, the negative side is, whenever you get a vaccine there is always a chance of reactions. Sometimes when people get flu shots they come down with the acctual flu, worse then if they had not gotten the vaccine. Luckily, there are doctors constantly working to revise the injection hoping to have more of a success rate.
With the current flu situation people are working harder then ever to stop the spread of the virus before prime flu season. Recently a vaccine came out, but the succes of it is not yet known. It could be sucessful and make a big differnce in this years flu season or it could be a fail, yet people are being advised to get the injection anyways. People being strongly advised to get the vaccine are, pregnant women, caregivers for children under 6 months of age, health care workers, and people of any age who have bad health conditions because these people are all at high risk of having complications if they are to get H1N1. Since the injection is so new, the negative side is, whenever you get a vaccine there is always a chance of reactions. Sometimes when people get flu shots they come down with the acctual flu, worse then if they had not gotten the vaccine. Luckily, there are doctors constantly working to revise the injection hoping to have more of a success rate.
On June 11, 2009 the World Health Organization declared that a global pandemic of H1N1 flu is underway. More then 70 countries have reported cases, yet the United States still has the largest amount recorded (http://www.flu.gov/).
In my oppinion, it's important to stay sanitary by washing your hands, staying home if your sick, and just being healthy and hygenic. Those are all everyday things that people can do to help prevent the spread of Swine Flu and even the common cold. Even without the vaccine, if everyone did simple things to stop the spreading of disease, we could have a much less fatal flu season.
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