Flu Pandemic This Way Cometh?

Human to human transmission of swine flu causes alarm via Reuters:

A strain of flu never seen before has killed as many as 61 people in Mexico and has spread into the United States, where eight people have been infected but recovered, health officials said on Friday.

Mexico’s government said at least 16 people have died of the disease in central Mexico and that it may also have been responsible for 45 other deaths.

The World Health Organization said tests showed the virus in 12 of the Mexican patients had the same genetic structure as a new strain of swine flu, designated H1N1, seen in eight people in California and Texas.

Because there is clearly human-to-human spread of the new virus, raising fears of a major outbreak, Mexico’s government canceled classes for millions of children in its sprawling capital city and surrounding areas.

“Our concern has grown as of yesterday,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acting director Dr. Richard Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing.

You know how you read this stuff and then wonder if it’s happened to you? A month ago, the flu struck my family and it was bad. It was a weird, clingy virus with a cyclical fever for five days, body-wracking cough and a fatigue that rivaled mono. And it has persisted. The kids still get a rumbling cough when they don’t get enough sleep.

This flu is a huge concern. I’m wondering if it’s more of a problem than even the CDC knows.

Cross-posted at MelissaClouthier.com

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