INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE 1918 & 2008 FLU & VITAMIN D
Every year as fall arrives, most people know that the cold and flu season is upon us. Not everyone gets the cold or flu every year, and for that we are grateful.
The flu virus changes from year to year, therefore to avoid contacting the virus, a flu shot is suggested by many doctors. This is the fastest mutating organism existing today.
What makes the run of the mill flu different from an epidemic that kills millions instead of thousands is its degree of mutation and duration.
Let’s consider the Spanish Flu of 1918. Its origination was in Asia, from fowl. The number of afflicted was so vast, that the media was not allow to publish information, fearing the publics response. Spain was the only country talking about it, hence the name Spanish Flu. In America the medical establishment called it the Blue Death, attributed to cyanosis,
lack of oxygen to the blood.
http://www.jhsph.edu/publichealthnews/magazine/archive/Mag_Fall04/prologues/index.html
This epidemic was the third most devastating viral outbreak to this day. The death toll was estimated conservatively at 21 million. There are those that believe thirty to forty million died.
This pathogen circled the globe three times; with each successive wave mutating, in an ever aggressive form. This process is called “The Drift”. Change, mutate, re-infect. These three waves occurred within one year with only short intervals between them. In contrast the 1889 Influenza epidemic’s three waves traveled around the globe in three years, resulting in a drastically lower death toll.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol12no01/05-0979.htm
The first reported case was at Fort Riley, Kansas, in March with five hundred cases among the service men.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/
Those most sensitive to infection were healthy 15-34 year olds. There death rate was twenty times higher than all other ages. Death was attributed to an “over reaction of the bodies immune system.” In contrast the seasonal flu strikes the very young, the elderly and the infirm. It was documented that contacting the virus in the first wave, gives a person only limited immunity.
The World Health Organization has called the Swine Flu of 2008 a pandemic, because there has had sustained transmission for three to six months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agHVPFaC5R.M&refer=worldwide
Although we are seeing mild cases of H1N1 at the present time, medical authorities are bracing for a second and more virulent form of this virus in the fall. If our annual yearly flu is stronger than H1N1, then this second wave will not happen.
http://johnmbarry.com/newsletter.htm
Historical literature on the subject provided interesting information pertaining to the transmission of this sickness.
Deep sea fishermen didn’t get sick, but those working in high temps were more susceptible to illness. Patients in mental asylums were less likely to get sick than there attendants.
The British Medical Journal stated that postal workers became sick after handling mail.
Lastly there was a belief that the position of the planets and atmospheric conditions influenced the spread of disease. There are those in this present day, which would agree.
This disease spread faster than human contact!
I would like to mention the Bird Flu, H5N1. In short the human nose is too cold for growth and replication of this pathogen on a wide scale. The virus thrives in the gut of fowl at 104 degrees Fahrenheit, in contrast to the human nose which is 89.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
As I close this article, I would like to leave you with a bit of hope. I have provided a couple of links to articles and a video about doctors’ experiences with influenza and vitamin D.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/51913.php
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--NqqB2nhBE
Vitamin D advocates push for higher doses
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-vitamind1-2009aug01,0,1740936,full.story
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