What is swine flu and how is it different from regular flu?

Swine flu is a contagious respiratory disease, caused by a type-A influenza virus that usually affects pigs. The 2009 strain, A(H1N1), is a new variation of an H1N1 virus — which causes seasonal flu outbreaks in humans — that also contains genetic material of bird and pig versions of the flu.

Symptoms include: Fever of more than 100, coughing, runny nose and/or sore throat, joint aches, severe headache, vomiting and/or diarrhea, lethargy, lack of appetite

Can we get swine flu from pork?
Transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to humans is rare and properly cooked pork poses no risk of infection. In fact, pork does not contain the virus.  When transmitted, the virus does not always cause human influenza and often the only sign of infection is the presence of antibodies in the blood, detectable only by laboratory tests.

Just what is a pandemic anyway?

A pandemic is NOT black-plague carts being hauled through the streets piled high with dead bodies.  By definition, a “pandemic” is an epidemic that is geographically widespread. Fear-mongers are always careful to add the innuendo that millions of people could die, as in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 that killed about 20 million people worldwide.

Why was the 2009 version of swine flu so strong in Mexico?
Mexico is a country in which there are many impoverished and undernourished people who are forced into living in close proximity to each other.  Very few of those who were sickened could practice good hygiene and healthy lifestyles.

How dangerous is swine flu compared to “normal” flu?
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, regular flu at this point in time is FAR more dangerous than the swine flu and were you worried about the regular flu before the media started talking this up?

Flu itself is a serious disease that kills about 36,000 people worldwide every year.  Swine flu, as of the date of this writing killed less than 36 this year.

According to Dr. Mercola, you should take the same preventive steps for swine flu as for any other form.  They all involve common-sense health habits.

Cure the Disease, Kill the Patient

The US in 2009-2010 will vaccinate up to 75 million of our children against swine flu.  However, the contents of any flu vaccine may be worse for our children than swine flu itself.

Australia has declined to use any vaccination for swine flu.  Less than 100 children in the U.S. die each year from seasonal flu viruses. If we use Australia’s math, a very rough estimate would be another 100 children could potentially die of swine flu in the United States in the coming year.

The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects from the shots. This time around, they will have no recourse.  According to Dr. Meryl Nass (click here) DDHS (Dept of Health and Human Services) has given the vaccine manufacturers immunity from law suits.

This new government protection for drug manufacturers removes your right to a trial jury unless you can provide clear evidence of willful misconduct that resulted in death or serious physical injury. But here’s the catch.  First you must apply for and be granted permission to sue by the DHHS Secretary.

Since drug manufacturers will be protected, that removes all financial incentive to make a safe product. You could say that vaccine makers now have a negative incentive to test any vaccine for safety, because if they are aware of problems, then they could potentially be held liable for willful misconduct!

As long as the manufacturers can prove they “didn’t know” of any problem, they will not be liable for damages. Hence it’s in their best interest to know as little as possible about the adverse reactions it might cause.

It seems hard to believe, but you and your children are now being enlisted as an unpaid human trial subjects for experimental, fast-tracked vaccines. That puts any parent in the difficult position of not being sure whether a vaccine is actually safe for the child.  We think it’s a no-win situation.

Please read our Health Tip on Avoiding the Flu.

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