1 Of Life's Little Ironies

In 1976 there was a big to do about the possibility of a Swine Flu pandemic. (much like the Bird Flu a panic a couple of years ago) The nation mobilized to get people vacinated to keep humans from getting Swine Flu. A new air hypo was used. It was canceled when several deaths & other serious side effects occured. (I got the shot but no problems.)

Today I saw a headline in the TH's Agribusiness section that shows how things have & haven't changed:

Pig farmers encouraged to get flu shots

The reason to keep pigs (swine) from getting Human Flu.

Ironic isn't it? 30 + years ago we were worried about getting it from them. Now it is the opposite.

Before I get any nasty comments, this isn't ment to make light of the seriousness of getting the flu shot every year. I got mine Sat. I am a firm believer in getting it as a preventative measure.

In fact, there is good reason for farmers to get the shot. Given how human, swine & avian flu can intermingle & become a new variety, esp in pigs & birds, & the resulting new virus could create a pandemic before a vaccine is developed, doing so just makes sense.

As I said, so does getting the annual innoculation even if you aren't a pig farmer or raise poultry. Unless you have a good reason not to (egg allergy, Guillain-Barré syndrome & a few other reasons) it is just good sense to protect yourself from what is a dangerous illness. Even more so if you are in a high risk group. & in doing so, you also help reduce the odds of a new variety developing.

Unfortunately, reduce, not eliminate is the best we can do in dealing with the flu. The influenza virus is a nasty creature that comes in many varieties that combine & recombine in enough different ways that humans, swine & birds can never develop complete immunity. Thus the need for trying to make a best guess about next year' strains & developing a vaccine to counter them. Since it takes at least 6-9 months to produce enough vaccine after the determination of the potential strains, about a year lead time is needed. Fortunately, they have gotten pretty good at making the right guess, good, not perfect. This is why things are in full gear to get started on the 2008 vaccine already. You may still get a new strain that came along since when they had to start making the next year's supply of vaccine, or an older 1 that you have no immunity to. But, annual shots do help you. & over time they give you some short range protection, at least until the older viruses have done enough of a DNA shuffle to no longer match up to your antibodies.

Again, I urge people to get the vaccination. Esp if you are in at at risk category.

For more (& better) info on influenza check out the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) website section Info on influenza. It includes info on who should get the shot so you can know your risk factor.