by Cindy Woods

Created on: April 30, 2009

Personally I don't consume a lot of pork as it is, but I am not planning to stop eating it all together because of this new flu virus.

First of all the virus is not contracted by eating pork. Secondly, this virus is a combination of pig, bird and human genetic influenza viruses. If you are going to stop eating pork for fear of getting this flu, then you better not each any kind of fowl either. However, like I stated previously, this virus is not contracted through eating any type of food.

It is an influenza virus, which means it is contracted from direct contact with someone who is sick, touching something an infected person has touched, breathing air that has been infected by someone who has the virus and has coughed or sneezed without covering their mouth.

The technical name of this virus is H1N1. There are already many different types of Influenza viruses out there. Normally during the year a quarter the US population contracts some type of Influenza. Yearly there are 200,000 complications from influenza and each year 36,000 deaths according to Center For Disease Control. The thing that has made this new virus news worthy is that it is genuinely new kind of influenza virus.

According to news sources there have been 109 cases in the US and one death as of today. A young child so far has been the only death here in the US. Typically all types of Influenza are more dangerous for small children and seniors, which is why during the flu season, doctors and health officials recommend flu shots.

According to The World Health Organization, yearly influenza epidemics can seriously affect all age groups, however the highest risks are to very young children, adults 65 or older and those with certain medical conditions such as chronic heart, lung, liver, and blood disease. As well as those with diabetes or weakened immune systems.

The best way to decrease your threat of getting this flu is to wash your hands often. Carrying around a little bottle of hand sanitizer is a good idea. When you cough or sneeze cover your mouth with a tissue, and avoid contact with those you know who are showing any symptoms. Avoiding pork is not going to stop you from getting this particular flu.

I do have to admit when I first heard the news about this new flu, my first thoughts went to Stephen King's book The Stand. For those who have read the book or seen the movie, the premise was a virus that wipes out most of the population. Only in the book it was a genetically engineered virus developed by the government. People started dropping like flies while the media and government were telling everyone it was just the flu.

Not that I believed this is what is going on now, mostly because the media and the government are actually, in my opinion, overstating the danger and causing people to panic and completely over react. This virus is not spreading like wildfire and so far at least in the US, the majority of cases are very mild.

The thought of not eating pork for fear of getting this flu never crossed my mind, even before I did some research and found out what it is and how it is contracted.

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