Blogging the Pandemic Part 4

Feeling much better; Excessive sleep plus oscillococcinum have helped a lot. Really, the most unusual thing about this flu is that it's the mildest I've ever had. I'm still quite sure that it was flu - those sorts of muscle aches don't come from colds.

The government is still reporting only a handful of cases in New York. Of course, I have no way of knowing if I've got swine flu or another strain. But my doctor still hasn't gotten back to me, and I suspect lots of other data hasn't yet made its way into the system. The fact that this all ramped up over a weekend has surely delayed reportage.

Many people don't understand that the very worst variety of flu is most deadly to those with young, healthy immune systems, aged 20 to 40. The peril comes from the so-called cytokine storm wherein the immune system superheats in trying to repel invaders. You're killed not by the virus, but by your own defenses. Older and younger people, and those with unhealthy immune systems, are much less likely to suffer this fate because their immune systems aren't so studly to begin with.

This might explain why the Queens kids who apparently caught the flu in Mexico (and those kids who caught it from them) exhibited such a mild form of the flu that's been so deadly in Mexico. And it would explain my easy fate, as well (I'm 46) if swine flu's what I've got. We may just be lucky that no one of the right age has caught this thing.

Meanwhile, I've read a couple of reports like this indicating that the situation in Mexico may be far worse than has been reported.

Please wash hands like you've got OCD, and buy a couple boxes of oscillococcinum!