With about 11 % of the 25 million populace infected and around 200 deaths the countries of Australia and New Zealand reveal an infection fatality rate of around 1:25,000,… given that there have been about 4,500 deaths recorded globally so far that equates to about 105 million infections… The CDC has said 5-10 percent of communities in the USA where the virus has been were infected… that equates to about 15-30 Million USA citizens… This is not the monster we were lead to believe…

A good article that has withstood the test of time.

A/Shanghai/71T/2009 only have the E627K mutation but not the D701N as you mentioned.

“Spring circulation of the novel virus in the Northern Hemisphere at
the end of the 2008-2009 influenza season inevitably has led to
comparisons with events in 1918-1919, which in some settings were
preceded and followed by outbreaks of respiratory illnesses. Some also
believe that the 1918 pandemic began with a premonitory “herald wave,”
a term related to an old hypothesis, which influenza and dengue fever
appeared to have supported, that as new viruses begin to circulate in
human populations they inevitably acquire mutations that increase
transmissibility and virulence.

Evidence for unusual influenza activity in the years before 1918 is
inconclusive. Occasional outbreaks of severe and fatal bacterial
pneumonia possibly related to influenza or other respiratory viruses,
detected in the European war theater in 1916-1918, are difficult to
interpret in the absence of pathological or other diagnostic material.

In spring 1918 there were widespread but distinct outbreaks and
epidemics of probable influenza in many different parts of Europe,
most featuring low to negligible mortality and a scattershot pattern
that differed from the undoubted epidemic waves seen later in the
year. Outbreaks of mostly nonfatal acute respiratory diseases were
also described in the United States in late 1917 and early 1918,
especially in military camps but also in cities. Whether the same or
different viruses caused any of these outbreaks is speculative. The
first documented wave of 1918 often confusingly referred to as the
spring wave, was actually a summer surge of influenza fatalities
concentrated in some but not all northern European countries between
late June and August 1918. Despite enormous wartime traffic, it is
curious that many English cities had a summer wave but France did
not.”

In the absence of genetic differences among virus isolates, the cause
of increased virulence is unknown.

Thanks for for using my photo in this post!

If possible please attribute it to Duncan Rawlinson and link to me @ TheLastMinuteBlog.com as per my request here:
http://flickr.com/people/thelastminute/

Take care!

(I posted this elsewhere on your site – sorry for the duplication but I just read this section on this exact matter).

Cytokine storm: where the immune system ravages one's own tissues in the lungs or other organs; an over-response or dysregulation of the immune system

Secondary bacterial infection: usually Strep or Staph or Hemophilus (but there are many more) that takes advantage of the primary influenza viral infection which also infects the respiratory tissues; MRSA being among the most dangerous bacterial infections

Viral pneumonia: influenza virus infects the cells of the lower respiratory tract; a possibly similar mechanism in human cases of H5N1 bird flu

Ventilator-associated pneumonia: hospital-acquired, bacterial infection of the lung caused by ventilator treatment (most often Pseudomonas)

These conditions may occur whether or not the strain is considered virulent? Yes?
My point being, just because someone develops ventilator-associated pneumonia or the other three conditions, it doesn't mean the flu strain is virulent. Yes?

Thanks for for using my photo in this post!

If possible please attribute it to Duncan Rawlinson and link to me @ http://TheLastMinuteBlog.com as per my request here:
http://flickr.com/people/thelastminute

Take care!

Now what if you start to get sick and take Tamiflu – will this “stunt” your learned immune response and you will not produce enough antigens to help with future similar influenza infections (say, a similar fall wave of H1N1).

Many thanks,

David