By Julie Stachowiak, PhD
Multiple Sclerosis Guide; Guest blogger
If you are relying on news reports on the television, Internet sites or newspaper, you will either get the impression that swine flu is a harbinger of doomsday or that it has pretty much quieted down, depending on what sources you are consulting. The current reality is somewhere between the two scenarios.
If you want to know what is REALLY happening around H1N1 (swine flu) go to FluView, which is a "Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report Prepared by the Influenza Division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)." The CDC is aware of the level of misinformation out there, as it even has as its tagline "Your Online Source for Credible Health Information."
I recommend starting with the "Synopsis," which will give you some interesting facts about what happened on the flu scene in the past week. You can read further to find out about levels of antiviral resistance, mortality and how widespread the epidemic has become. For the truly motivated, there is also information on antigenic characteristics of the specimens that have been tested.
I can "geek out" on this page for quite awhile - the information is fascinating and, more importantly, based on facts and hard data. However, I must warn that some of the information is not easy to interpret at a glance. Read carefully. Check dates and whether the numbers presented are cumulative or for the current week. Look up definitions if you need to. Follow the links to more in-depth information about the flu and the international situation, if you are so inclined. The CDC isn't perfect, but it's probably the most reliable source we have.
