On Thursday, June 11, 2009 the World Health Organization announced that we are now in a pandemic with the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu. Nearly 29,000 people have been infected and the flu has reached 74 countries. So far, the flu is mild and most patients do not need to be hospitalized because of it.

JLHanna, a 22 year old college student and I, a 48 year old out of work due to a severe back injury, had a discussion about whether we feel the swine flu should be at pandemic levels.

Introduction

Me - I feel that the swine flu is something to worry about because it is a respiratory flu, meaning that it hits the lungs. I get scared when I hear a flu that will get into your lungs because that type of flu can cause a lot of problems with breathing. I don't smoke, so I would probably be in a better position of getting over it without problems than someone who does smoke.

JLHanna - I don't think it really matters which flu you get thy are all pretty bad. I'm sick right now with the flu and I just got back from the doctors but they dont know which flu I have because they don't test you. The only people they test are the ones who know they came into contact with someone who has the H1N1 virus or someone who has been to Mexico within 7 days of getting sick.

1. Do you feel the World Health Organization should have declared the swine flu a pandemic?

Me - On one hand, because of the number of cases worldwide, yes, I do feel that the World Health Organization should have declared the swine flu a pandemic, however, because of the cases of the H1N1 virus not being that serious, I think the World Health Organization should not have declared as such.

JLHanna - I really don't think it should have been declared a pandemic. Look at how many people get sick each consecutive year with the usual flu. Many people get very very sick from the flu and its not a pandemic. I believe even though the H1N1 virus is a respiratory flu, if people took care of themselves when they are sick it wouldn't be so bad.

2. Do you think there is a chance that the swine flu could become a lot more serious than it is?

Me - Yes, I do feel that the swine flu could get worse than it is with time. I think we all need to take precautions and try to prevent getting it.

JLHanna - There is always a chance that a flu could get worse. The strands of flus are always mutating.

3. What can we do as a precautionary measure to ensure we don't get the swine flu?

Me - To prevent ourselves from getting the swine flu, we need to keep ourselves healthy. We need to wash our hands every chance we get with warm water and soap and if we have to cough, cough into our sleeves.

JLHanna - Yes, people definitely need to take care of themselves. Don't let yourself get soaking wet on cool rainy days. If you have to go out take a change of clothes with you so can dry off quicker. Make sure you eat lots of fruits and vegtables and wash your hands as much as you can. When you do cough, cough into your elbow, it is the least likely place for someone to touch you. This will help keep the spread of germs down.

4. Do you think the swine flu can be transmitted to humans from eating pork?

Me - Just as the same as any other meat that we purchase, care must be taken in the storage, preparation and cooking to ensure that the meat does not become contaminated but no, i don't think the swine flu can be transmitted to humans from eating pork.

JLHanna - I agree, everything concerning meat needs to be taken care of appropriately to ensure you are not getting food poisoning from the meat. The swine flu is not contracted through the pork itself; therefore, you cannot get it through eating pork. Right now it is just being spread from person to person.

5. Do you think we are going to see more viruses like the swine flu in the future?

Me - Yes, unfortunately, I think we are going to see a lot more viruses in the future and I think those viruses are going to be deadly.

JLHanna - Yeah, I think we will see more viruses someday. We will always have viruses going around as they change themselves. I believe all viruses in the future may not be deadly but some will be.

Conclusion

Me - I think that we, as a human race, are going to see a lot of viruses in the future, deadly ones. The only thing we can do is hope and pray that our researchers will find vaccines for them. I think trying to keep ourselves clean and heathy is a very important first step to not getting these viruses when they come around.

JLHanna - I agree, we are going to see more viruses in the future and many of them will be bad. It will be no different then the past. The only thing that makes a virus deathly or not is wether a vaccine is found. This is the one thing that stopped polio, chicken pox, measles and the scarlett fever. They were all very deadly at one time until they found a vaccine for most of them or just let them run their course.