The recent swine flu originating in Mexico and the 1918-1919 Spanish flu epidemics have something in common. The category of people most affected by both of them was the young, healthy generation, whose immune systems were strong. There were numberless casualties. Instead, swine flu went easy on old people and children. The explanation to this phenomenon is the following one: the immune systems of the strong, young people had such a powerful reaction that caused a “cytokine storm” to happen.
Normally, every infection in the body is fought against by the immune system through different modalities. Cytokines represent one of these modalities. A “cytokine storm” is actually an exaggerated reaction of the immune system which turns against the body, damaging other organ systems. This situation is however uncommon when it comes to human flu, but it can be caused by a virus as well. This is exactly what happens in the case of swine flu, the body being left with no protection. The infection with the swine flu virus compels the body to react, but the reaction is exaggerated and brings chaos to the entire immune system. A good comparison would be that of an H-bomb that is dropped on the housebreaker in your yard. Too much fuss, for too insignificant a problem.
As far as the other two categories of people are concerned, the explanation is that the immune system of children has not reached maturity yet so it is not able to react with full strength, whereas the old people’s immune system is already too weak to react properly. Normally, these two categories are more exposed to regular flu, pneumonia or other types of infections because their immune systems are weak. But, when it comes to swine flu, due to their weakness, the immune systems are not capable to trigger a “cytokine storm”. Anyway, most people, from 15 to 60 years old are exposed to swine flu.
When infected with swine flu virus, a patient’s body that has been producing a “cytokine storm” might develop serious problems of the nervous system which lead to internal organ complications. In this case, assisted machines are necessary. The problem is that hospitals do not usually own too many such machines and those which exist are used for the patients in critical conditions. Unfortunately, not even the most developed hospital system is able to cope with such a situation in case of swine flu pandemic. Too many respiratory machines would be necessary to help the patients with swine flu survive until their bodies get strong enough to help themselves.
Nevertheless, it seems that nobody is yet certain that people dying from swine flu are actually killed by a “cytokine storm” or at least this is what Andrew Pekosz, PhD is stating, the specialist being associate professor at the notorious Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Learn about the Native Remedies range of herbal remedies designed to treat common conditions & ailments in a holistic & natural manner.
