Those sunny days outside will not be around for too many more
weeks as we
enter into the
autumn season
just in time for
flu season.
Scientists are
predicting that
the swine flu
virus, which is
currently on a
hiatus for
North America,
will hit earlier
than the regular
flu season
(which normally
occurs during
the late fall
and winter and
peaking in
February
annually). It
has been found
that the flu
virus is more
apt to spread at
colder
temperatures and
the drier,
colder air
allows the virus
to stay in the
air longer.
1
“It is looking more and more like we are going to
have a big flu
outbreak this
fall as soon as
the kids get
back to school.
Influenza is
unpredictable,
but I believe
this pandemic
will hit
pre-teens, teens
and their
parents hard,
and as many as
60 million
Americans could
be sick with the
flu. It’s
critical that we
find a way to
protect people
from this
disease,” said
Robert Belshe,
M.D., director
of the Center
for Vaccine
Development at
Saint Louis
University
School of
Medicine and a
co- investigator
for several of
the national
research
studies. "The
modelers predict
the peak will be
in October,
which means
we’ll see more
H1N1 influenza
in September.
We’ll be in the
midst of it
before we know
it.”
2
And
since
researchers have
found that the
first wave of
the swine flu
has already hit
the young people
harder than they
expected, they
are especially
concerned about
how rapidly it
will spread once
kids start going
back to school.
Research data
shows that the
highest
percentage of
deaths and cases
of severe
pneumonia for
swine flu, thus
far, is directly
opposite of what
normally happens
in people who
are ages 5-59.
Typically, a flu
season will
affect the very
youngest and the
elderly hardest.
However, the
swine flu has
affected those
between the ages
of 5 and 59 far
greater than the
infants and
elderly.3,
4, 5
It’s a race for
laboratories to
come up with a
viable swine flu
virus vaccine
that can be
implemented
quickly and
whether it can
be combined with
the regular
seasonal flu
virus vaccines.
“So far, most of
the infections
are relatively
mild. We’re
hoping it’s
going to stay
that way, but we
don’t really
know,” Belshe
said. “With the
large number of
people who are
predicted to
become infected,
the number of
serious health
complications
and even deaths
could soar.” In
the meantime,
current research
studies are
recruiting
thousands of
healthy child,
adult and
elderly
volunteers to
test the various
combinations,
potencies and
doses of the
vaccines in
order to measure
best responses.6,
7
So how does one
protect
themselves short
of extraordinary
sanitation
measures until a
vaccine is
developed and
dispensed on a
wide scale?
Doctors will
tell you that
the single best
line of defense
are the common
sense things
like maintaining
a healthy
lifestyle of
proper diet and
nutrition, sleep
and exercise.
And because we
are who we are,
even the best
intentioned
person can often
fall short of
those health
goals in today's
busy world.
Adding
nutritional
supplements like
zinc and beta
carotene to the
diet is a
logical addition
to help keep the
immune system
running at its
very best.
Products such as
A-Z Immune
Booster
contain clinical
supplemental
amounts of
Zinc and
Beta-Carotene,
along with other
important immune
system boosters
such
as blueberry
powder,
elderberry
extract, and
honeysuckle.
These all work
together to
create a
powerful
combination to
help the immune
system perform
at its very best
and give the
body its best
chance of
fighting off
disease such as
the flu virus.
So think about
boosting your
family’s immune
systems to be
prepared in
advance of this
year’s flu
season no matter
what kind of flu
virus it is!
References:
1.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2008/0103-does_winter_cause_the_flu.htm
2.
Saint Louis University
Medical Center
(2009, July 24).
Halting A
Pandemic: NIH
Mounts Search
For A H1N1
Vaccine.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2009/07/090723194958.htm
3.
Reported severe
respiratory
disease and
deaths
concurrent with
atypical A(H1N1)
influenza
circulation of
swine origin in
Mexico, 2009.
New England
Journal of
Medicine,
June 29, 2009
4.
Transmission
potential of the
new influenza
A(H1N1) virus
and its
age-specificity
in
Japan. Eurosurveillance,
June 4, 2009
5.
Arizona State
University
(2009, July 5).
First Wave Of
Swine Flu Hit
Young People
Harder Than
Expected.
ScienceDaily.
Retrieved
August 5, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2009/06/090629200800.htm
6.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00943878
7.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00943488
and
http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00943631
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Regarding the
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