Swine flu...

[scapilot]

During the last Swine Flu H1N1 outbreak, Did anyone get to change there airline tickets for free or for a discounted rate ?

[bellamom6]

We did. On Us Airways, they waived the $150 per ticket change fee.

[scapilot]

good to know.. we are concerned about the up coming winter and the report of the east coast outbreak.. we are set to cruise in December.

[AFuncruiser]

I got a regular flu shot yesterday..and on the box it said it included H1N1..
But I was told the H1N1 in the shot was not the same as the H1N1 swine flu shots..can anyone explain this?
Dennis
Jacksonville, Fl

314 days at sea
27 cruises
11 cruise lines
T/P, T/A, Hawaii, Central & South America, New Zealand & South Pacific

Booked
Carnival Facination 5 days September 14th
Holland America Statendam Oct 16th 28 nights
Carnival 7 nights Christmas 09

[YXU AC*SE]

H1N1 is a 'family' so to speak of A-type flu variants. Long biochemistry story short - and highly over-simplified(!!), they get their name from protein types (H = haemagglutinin, and N = neuraminidase) that are present. As the flu virus mutates, the composition and structure of the proteins changes (proteins are longish chains of amino acids - think about re-ordering the cars on a freight train) and they create sub-variants of the flu, of which the current 'H1N1 swine flu' is one. CDC now has a specific nomenclature for this flu variant, which is "2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus" to distinguish from the garden variety H1N1 flu strains that are out there.

Hope this helps.

Scott.

[CanCruzer]

I got a regular flu shot yesterday..and on the box it said it included H1N1..
But I was told the H1N1 in the shot was not the same as the H1N1 swine flu shots..can anyone explain this?

I didn't think the vaccine was ready yet. I'm no expert, but what I'm reading is that it is still in the testing phases. The vaccine isn't supposed to be available to the general public for another month or 2.

Not sure what you got. Maybe you are a test subject without knowing it! :eek:

[AFuncruiser]

H1N1 is a 'family' so to speak of A-type flu variants. Long biochemistry story short - and highly over-simplified(!!), they get their name from protein types (H = haemagglutinin, and N = neuraminidase) that are present. As the flu virus mutates, the composition and structure of the proteins changes (proteins are longish chains of amino acids - think about re-ordering the cars on a freight train) and they create sub-variants of the flu, of which the current 'H1N1 swine flu' is one. CDC now has a specific nomenclature for this flu variant, which is "2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus" to distinguish from the garden variety H1N1 flu strains that are out there.

Hope this helps.

Scott.

Thanks Scott..GREAT!!! information... Does having the initial flu shot include H1N1 provide any protection against the H1N1 swine flu?

[Storylady]

I didn't think the vaccine was ready yet. I'm no expert, but what I'm reading is that it is still in the testing phases. The vaccine isn't supposed to be available to the general public for another month or 2.

Not sure what you got. Maybe you are a test subject without knowing it! :eek:

Read in the paper that the flu shot would not be available until middle of October. Also, the Swine flu shot is really two shots. The second shot is given 3 weeks later. It will then take 2 weeks for the Swine flu shot to be effective.

[YXU AC*SE]

Thanks Scott..GREAT!!! information... Does having the initial flu shot include H1N1 provide any protection against the H1N1 swine flu?

No, not specifically. Remember, H1N1 is the 'family' but there are a lot of variants with in that family. Each year the flu vaccine is tweaked -- the viruses in the vaccine change each year based on international surveillance of what's floating around out there and immubiologists' estimations about which types and strains of viruses will circulate in a given year. Lots of nerdy reading at the CDC's website about flu vaccines in general here: http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/protect/keyfacts.htm

If we go with the re-ordering the cars of the freight train metaphor, it is believed that older people (eg 60 plus) -- who have been routinely exposed to successive strains of flu over time have better immunity against this current H1N1 variant (e.g. what we are currently calling the swine flu aka 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus) as they have been exposed to enough freight cars in the same order to build up natural immunity to the current H1N1 variant. Technical reading here: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/swineflu/news/may2109serum-jw.html

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/3D_Influenza_virus.png

A note of caution to the gentle reader: please do not construe what you read here as medical advice.

Hope this elucidates! :-)

Scott.