Pandemic Update - May 5/09

Well, we're into day 11 since the news broke of the H1N1 Swine Flu viral epidemic in Mexico. And it's been quite a rollercoaster since then, at least for those of us who consult in emergency management!

The best line I've heard so far was from a local news broadcaster who was heard to say, "Fear of the pandemic seems to be spreading quite a bit faster than the pandemic itself."

Thanks largely to the media and occasionally to the odd politician or bureaucrat, people were pretty scared for a few days, at least until a few things became clear:

First, that the Mexican stats on infections and deaths were exaggerated out of the park. Once the lab tests were in, the story was a lot different.

Second, the steadily climbing number of cases in Canada and the USA that clearly has had the public on edge is more the result of labs catching up on their test results than of genuinely new infections. The disease is spreading, but at a rather slow rate.

Third, the disease is barely more serious than the common cold or seasonal influenza. For those of you wondering why all the fatalities have been in Mexico (except for the one Mexican child who died in Texas), the explanation is very likely this:

They didn't die from the swine flu.

Instead, they died from a secondary bacterial infection of the kind easily contracted in unsanitary living conditions. Combine such bacterial infections with a lack of readily available medical treatment and you'll definitely get casualties. In fact, this is the reason why the 1918-19 flu killed so many. Those people didn't die from the flu either, but rather from a strep infection.

Nowadays it's much easier for us to prevent those bacterial infections or treat them successfully.

So the bottom line is this may not develop into a full blown pandemic. At this point I'd be a little surprised if it did. That doesn't mean we're out of the woods, of course, since this virus could come back in the fall for our northern hemisphere flu season.

Just remember - by far the best way to protect yourself is to strengthen your own immune system. Make yourself a really tough target. How?

• Get regular fresh air and exercise
• Get regular sun exposure to improve your vitamin D levels
• Eat right - avoid refined sugar, flour, and all harmful foods
• Use the world's best immune-boosting supplements

http://wci.mionegroup.com (note, NO www in this address)

www.NCDpro.com/drsymeon

• Meditate - cultivate inner stillness
• Manage your stress and your emotions
• Watch the videos I'm sending you over the next week or two

Just follow those steps and you'll be healthy as a horse. Then, even if you do get sick with any virus, you'll shake it easliy.

~ Dr. Symeon Rodger