[LibertyRocks]

I agree, I can't logically understand how something could've mutated so quickly - espeically with the wide geographic range of the strains - and combined and in the process made the jump from animal-to-human, to human-to-human transmission so quickly either. I'd honestly LOVE for someone to prove me wrong in my understanding of how viruses can mutate, and how this could've happened besides the cliche of some geneticist screwing around in some lab somewhere... [Well, to be completely honest either that or GOD. -- just saying...]

As for what we should call this disease, I thought the following made a lot of sense...

My 17-year-old daughter [FReeper Izzy_Box] suggested a "short" name for this new flu would be the "CHIMERA FLU".

I think it's short, "catchy" (no pun intended), and correctly identifies is as a genetically altered virus that combines at LEAST 4 different known viruses, and can be transferred from human-to-human.

Just some suggestions to share...

One more thing... I read early yesterday when I started reading some of these articles a post that said one of the first identified victims of this disease that died was a Pakistani (can't remember if he was a tourist, or lived there, or what...). That could mean something, or nothing, but if anyone knows the article or post I'm talking about, could they send me, or post the link to it, please? :)

[Quix]

Interesting.

Thanks.

[Spunky]

".....was a Pakistani."

I never heard or read that.

Here is a snippet from an article.

"The first case was seen in Mexico on April 13. The outbreak coincided with the President Barack Obama’s trip to Mexico City on April 16. Obama was received at Mexico’s anthropology museum in Mexico City by Felipe Solis, a distinguished archeologist who died the following day from symptoms similar to flu, Reforma newspaper reported. The newspaper didn’t confirm if Solis had swine flu or not."

I just heard on the news today that it has now been confirmend that Felipe Solis did have Swine flu

[PghBaldy]

I read it somewhere else, from a Mexican paper...one thing though, there is now a 4 yr old who had it in March

[Oorang]

One more thing... I read early yesterday when I started reading some of these articles a post that said one of the first identified victims of this disease that died was a Pakistani (can't remember if he was a tourist, or lived there, or what...). That could mean something, or nothing, but if anyone knows the article or post I'm talking about, could they send me, or post the link to it, please? :)

http://pandemicinformationnews.blogspot.com/2009/04/pakistani-among-those-killed-by-flu.html

[Polarik]

These viruses are strands of RNA that attach themselves to other RNA strands, including those that come from dividing DNA molucules. The trick is to create binding points on the avian flu or swine flu virus that will link up to complimentary points on the human influenza virus. Then though recombinations of these strands, come up with a hybrid that is as easily tramsmitted as the human flu but has the damaging characteristics of thw swine flu.