Michael Foster wrote:
Far more people die of the usual form of influenza, more than 30,000
per year in the U.S., and nothing is made of it. And yet, this
relatively benign disease occupies all the headlines and is causing
all the panic.
You are quite wrong about that! This strain of influenza has a much
higher rate of fatalities and serious, long term damage than the
typical seasonal varieties. If it were not checked by a vaccine it
would kill hundreds of thousands of Americans, and possibly millions,
compared to ~30,000 to ~50,000 who die from most seasonal flu.
H1N1 is the most dangerous strain since 1968.
That does not mean it makes everyone drastically ill. Many people are
like you; they barely notice. It means that this strain makes more
people drastically ill than most strains do. Many people were only
mildly affected by the 1918 strain, even thought it was the worst
influenza in recorded history.
The mortality rate for the 1918 flu was ~2.5%. I do not know how many
suffered long term effects, but the point is, most (probably ~95%) of
the people who got it recovered and were fine. So it was nothing to
worry about, right?
- Jed
