Swine Flu Pandemic Sweeping Through Britain Even Though 70% Vaccinated Last Year

Is there really a swine flu pandemic in Britain?

There is absolute, objective evidence that Britain is suffering its coldest winter in decades, or even longer. With winter ice and snow comes increased mortality. People with weak hearts die struggling to walk through snow or over ice. People succumb to falls and auto crashes. And it's also true that more children in Britain went to doctor's office for treatment of influenza last week than earlier in December.
But are the headlines true?

 

 

Here are the facts:

• The British Health Protection Agency reports that 11,193 people in the UK died of any cause in the week ending 10 December 2010, when the current cold weather started. This is approximately 2,000 more than in a usual week. It does not list a separate number for flu deaths, but 27 people in the whole of Britain have died of influenza since 1 October 2010.
• The infection rates of influenza are rapidly increasing in Wales. Earlier in December, 99.95% of children in Wales did not have flu. Last week, only 99.8% of children in Wales did not have flu.
• In the UK this week, 17 swine flu patients are receiving assisted oxygenation in intensive care units.
• British health officials are concerned about the possibility of a coming flu epidemic, which would be declared when 1 person in every 200 has the infection. There is no swine flu pandemic in Britain at this time.

There are 62 million people in the UK.

And what about the claim that people are dying of H1N1 his year despite having immunizations against swine flu last year? Of the 27 people (18 of them children) in the UK who have died of influenza this year, 21 did not get shots, 1 did, and the immunization status of the other 6 is unknown. However, not all of those who died of the flu had H1N1, and 17 were "at risk" patients who had either diabetes or asthma.
 

But does this mean there is no need for influenza precautions?

If you are the one person who does catch the flu, however, it's a major event for you. Fortunately, catching influenza is largely preventable, with or without immunization. The single most important thing anyone can do to keep from catching H1N1 or any other strain of influenza is:

Wash your hands frequently.
 

It is best to wash hands with ordinary soap under a stream of warm water. Alcohol-based cleansers kill viruses, but they also dry out the skin so that the next time an infection is encountered, it is more likely to land in tiny cracks where it can survive cleansing. Antibacterial soaps have no special effect on viruses, but they do encourage the growth of bacteria that are resistant to the effects of the antibacterial soaps!

Among natural remedies for influenza, elderberry extracts stand out as especially useful. The elderberry contains complex carbohydrates that lock into receptor sites that otherwise would allow various kinds of flu viruses to infect cells. They help before, during, and after flu infection, and they are free of side effects.

And what about vitamin D, especially expensive brands of vitamin D promoted over natural sources like cod liver oil? It is certainly true that people who live farther from the equator make less vitamin D in their skin during the winter, and it is also true that influenza is much more common during the time of year that vitamin D levels are lowest. However, this relationship is an example of a phenomenon known as spurious correlation. The two events are not really related.

The reason more people get influenza during the winter in northerly climates and during the rainy season during equatorial climates is that flu viruses are more active at lower temperatures. H1N1, however, operates at a higher temperature than other kinds of the flu, and will be more of a problem when temperatures begin to rise after cold weather breaks.