Bird Flu vs. Swine Flu: Which Virus Is Deadlier?

In this article you will learn:

• Swine flu symptoms and how they rank.
• Where to look for bird flu treatment.
• H1N1 flu history.

If you studied history in school you may remember references to a few of the pandemics that have struck the world. In the last 30 years, we have had a few scares, including the ‘Bird’ or ‘Avian’ flu and most recently the Swine or H1N1 flu. The questions that we all have are: what our level of concern should be, where these viruses come from, and the difference between the bird flu and the latest H1N1 or swine flu.

Most of the influenza viruses begin in other countries. The U.S. imports an enormous amount of product: from fresh food to cheap vitamins and supplements. Some of these countries have less than high standards of production. The concern is so high that the FDA has opened an office in China. We all know that viruses mutate and then the new strain can make the transition to the human population.

Avian influenza

Outbreaks occur in poultry world wide. The bird flu viruses are mostly classified in the low pathogenicity form (LPAI). Some are in the highly pathogenic form (HPAI) based on the severity of the poultry illness. While LPAI does not pose a serious threat to humans, some HPAI strains can be infectious to people. More recently, outbreaks of the H5N1 avian influenza have been associated with illness and death in humans in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific and the Near East. From 1997 to 2005, the U.S. had 16 outbreaks for the low pathogenic avian flu a virus and one outbreak of the HPAI avian flu virus in poultry.

Swine influenza

The swine flu is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus (SIV) and is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic to pigs. As of 2009, the know SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1. H3N2 and H2N3.

Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza; however it can result only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. The meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked.

In April, 2009, H1N1 emerged as a new virus of the swine origin; causing swine flu symptoms and illness in Mexico and the United States. On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) signaled that a global pandemic of novel influenza A (H1N1) was underway. They raised the pandemic alert to a Phase 6 (peak alert). At that time, more than 70 countries had reported cases of H1N1 flu virus infection.

Given the novel spread of the H1N1 flu virus, the CDC anticipates that there will be more cases, more hospitalizations and more deaths associated with this pandemic in the U.S.

The CDC is continuing to watch carefully as the regular U.S. influenza season occurs.
Given the speed of transmission and severity of the H1N1 flu virus, the swine flu has everyone from the CDC to the medical community on high alert. You can check out the CDC map that is continually updated on the severity of flu outbreak in your state on the bird flu, swine flu, swine flu symptoms, bird flu symptoms; bird flu treatment and swine flu treatment.

The information supplied in this article is not to be considered as medical advice and is for educational purposes only.