Chances are if you catch the flu this fall it’ll be the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu.
Of all the flu cultures sent to the lab recently from this area, 99 percent have been H1N1, according to Glory Newman, a Mississippi Department of Health nurse, who spoke to the McComb Rotary Club Wednesday.
The good news seems to be that swine flu isn’t as bad as some other forms of influenza and incidents, at least for the present, seem to be decreasing.
Newman said that while more people have had the flu this year than at the same time last year, the level is decreasing.
However, she said, there may be another surge as cold weather sets in.
So far, she said, there have been 10 deaths in Mississippi attributed to swine flu — none in Pike County.
People over 65 seem to be less susceptible to catching it, probably due to an immunity. A similar virus is believed to have circulated in the 1970s.
However, older people who have other serious ailments are encouraged to take the swine flu shot, as are younger people and children.
Next year, Newman said, the swine flu vaccine probably will be included in regular flu shots, but that wasn’t possible this year due to the inavailability of the H1N1 vaccine until recently.
