by Charles Simmins

Created on: July 18, 2009

A comparison of the current swine flu outbreak to the annual seasonal flu shows many similarities and a few important differences. The many strains of the influenza virus produce the same symptoms and the same effects, as a general rule, but certain strains such as Swine Flu do behave slightly differently.

Seasonal influenza and the Swine Flu share a great many symptoms. They produce fever, lung congestion and cough, a stuffy or runny nose, body aches and extreme fatigue. Influenza is a "whole body" illness, unlike the common cold which affects the upper respiratory system alone.

Because influenza affects the entire body, many people with a variety of medical conditions are at risk for additional complications. Diabetics, people with heart disease and people with weak immune systems due to cancer or HIV disease fall into that category. Even healthy people should not underestimate the toll that an influenza infection takes on their body and its immune system.

Seasonal influenza is any one of a number of influenza strains that appear on a regular basis each year. In the Northern Hemisphere, October to March is the typical time for seasonal flu to appear. In the Southern Hemisphere it appears from March to September. These are the months in which typical influenza cases peak, although it is possible to catch the flu at any point in the year.

Seasonal influenza cases also are higher in certain age groups, over 65 and under 4 being the most at risk for infection. It also affects people with pre-existing medical conditions in greater numbers.

Swine Flu is behaving differently. While we are very early in the course of the swine flu pandemic, it appears that there are several significant differences between seasonal influenza and the Swine Flu.

Swine Flu first appeared in early April of 2009 and the outbreak has continued since that time. This is a big difference from seasonal flu, which was dying out at the time that Swine Flu cases were rapidly increasing in the Northern Hemisphere.

In the Southern Hemisphere, seasonal flu would normally be the primary influenza strain seen at this time. Instead, Swine Flu infections are the vast majority of the cases being seen by medical professionals.

The spread of Swine Flu during a normally "flu free" time of year is just one difference with seasonal flu. A second, and more serious difference, is the age groups involved.

At this point in the pandemic, very few cases of Swine Flu have been recorded in people over the

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