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Influenza information too many times is based on myths, ideologies and ulterior motives
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For as long as there have been diseases, there have been snake oil salesmen trying to make a profit from the ailment of a person or a group of people. With the advent of H1N1-swine influenza, plenty of opportunistic people have come out of the woodwork to try and make a monetary or ideological profit from the situation. Sadly, they do not contribute in any way to the advancement of knowledge, or mankind. These opportunists are worse than the disease in many respects, and the consequences of their actions can be very serious.
In this article (ARTICLE REMOVED BY EDITORS) by Peggy Kraus, Disease Prevention Examiner at examiner.com, Ms. Kraus references a "Russian report" by "Russian researchers" that attempts to link French fries and H1N1 influenza. The claims made by that report are extraordinary. The report claims that "the protease enzyme genetically modified in the potatoes being sold through Western fast food restaurants... causes an 'explosive' replication of the H1N1 influenza virus." The rest of the pseudo-scientific statements make no sense to trained virologists or lay persons.
The author(s) of that report try to back up their claims with WHO H1N1 statistics on the number of cases. They point out that most of the H1N1 influenza cases have been found in Western nations. Since Westerners have the most number of cases, then it must be French fries.
It could not possibly be that the virus first sprouted in Western nations. What will these people claim when more and more cases are found elsewhere in the world? That French fries are being exported by the Evil Empire?
Ms. Kraus comments in her opening paragraph that "(t)he world of gentically (sic) modified foods is extremely secretive and evil in many ways because it undermines our health." And that really sets up the tone of the rest of the information she provides. That is, she subscribes to an ideology that is, from the beginning, skeptical (at best) of scientists who are trying to make food more readily available and resistant to pests. Yet Ms. Kraus is not the only one with extraordinary claims about the link between H1N1 influenza and other things.
The Government of Egypt ordered the culling (euthanasia) of 250,000 pigs at the onset of H1N1 influenza to prevent the spread of the disease. There was no evidence that pigs had directly caused the disease. It is called "swine flu" because its genes are seen in the influenza virus that causes the flu in pigs, too. But this H1N1 is special in that it has swine, avian (bird), and human genes. CDC just went with Swine out of the habit of naming viruses based on what genes they have.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture had to ask that the virus be referred to as "H1N1" not "swine" because people actually believed that eating pork would make them sick. I'd be more worried about getting trichinosis from pork than getting the flu (and even then, there are only about 12 cases of trichinosis per year in the U.S.).
Of course, there is also the profit to be made by entrepreneurs like those on this site. They'll sell you a kit that you can get together yourself (cheaper) by following these instructions.
In the battle against disease, there is no greater adversary than bad, inaccurate information that is not backed up by facts or evidence of some sort. With HIV, for example, a South African politician subscribes to the notion that a quick shower after sex without a condom can prevent the infection. The consequence of that is more HIV/AIDS in his nation. And then there are myths about tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and cancer that just make fighting these diseases more difficult.
To get the best information on diseases, nothing is better than established authorities on the subject. These authorities are not all just your state and local health departments. Private institutions and non-profit organizations have great information not just on influenza but also on a number of other conditions. All of these without bias, without an agenda, and with evidence and fact-based information.
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