INFLUENZA AH1N1

1. What is an epidemic?

It is a break out of a biological or viral nature where an increase or surge in victims of this virus or biological form is noticed in a very short and alarming period of time.

2. What is a pandemic?

Pandemic is more extended than the epidemic is when the virus came more large and affect all the state or a big part.

3. What is an infectious disease?

An infectious disease is a clinically evident disease resulting from the presence of pathogenic microbial agents, including pathogenic viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions.

4. What is a virus?

A virus is an infection that it can affect other person when you are in a short distance with the person that is infected

5. What makes the H1N1 virus a "novel" or "new" virus?

The sudden detection of the new swine influenza virus, A(H1N1), occurred just as scientists were focusing wary eyes on behavioral changes observed in another virus

6. How do viruses mutate?

Mexico is not the only one affected by the virus also U.S.A and Europ are affected and were more and more the people in all the places that were infected and were growing the killings by the virus.

7. What does it mean that this virus has "parts" from other known swine flus, human flus and American bird flus?

That it has combined with people who have it, and that they are similar.
8. How does that process happen?
It somehow mutates with the other ones
9. How is the flu vaccine created?
By investigating the reactions the virus has to certain substances.
10. Why are some viruses transmittable from human to human while others are not (avian flu)?
Because viruses are not the same
11. How does Tamiflu work?
It prevents virions from emerging in the in the infected cells.
12. Scientists worry that H1N1 might become resistant to Tamiflu. How might that happen?
It might become resistant by mutating


1. What is the most predictable thing about influenza?

It's unpredictable nature.

2. How many people have died in Mexico? (based on the article as well as on latest news)

In Mexico, 2 895 people have died as of may 16 where as 8468 people have died worldwide.

3. Name 3 countries where swine flu has been confirmed in the last three days.

Turkey, India and Ecuador.

4. What are the symptoms of the swine flu?

The same as the seasonal flu.

5. When was the outbreak of the Spanish flu?

At the beginning of the 20th century.

6. What percentage of the world population died of influenza then?
The 1%

7. Why was there an emergency vaccination program in 1976?

Because public health officials wanted to immunize the population from it.

8. Name a few actions the Mexican government has done to curb the spread of swine flu.

The made hundreds of ads in TV and radio to tell how to prevent the virus.

9. What were the consequences for Mexico and Mexicans due to the actions taken by the government?

Hysteria broke loose; people thought they were infected when they actually weren't.Every public places were basically closed; like: stores, parks, centers…

10. What industries were particularly hard hit?

Wherever many people concentrate, like movie theaters, restaurants, big stores.DISCUSSION

1. Mexico has shut down schools and other public spaces; do you think that was the correct thing to do? Why or why not?

Of course, that way the virus spread more slowly. And we got more vacations.

2. More people die from the regular flu then from swine flu, why do you think this became a big news story?

Because we are usually immune to it, and it might as well be a cover-up for something else, like a conspiracy theorists say.

3. Why did people stop visiting Mexico? Why have Mexicans been discriminated? Do you think the fear of the disease is justified?

Because they say the disease started in Mexico. It is not justified because it doesn't as many people, and it's simply acting with ignorance.

4. What questions about individual and human rights does preventing the spread of flu raise?The one about health treatment being a right, for instance.