Carol Flake Chapman

The Swine Flu Effect

Actually, Quidel does make a test that works with nasal aspirates/wash and tests for Type A influenza.

The Swine Flu Effect

Flu strains are mutable, and they can come in waves of increasing virulence, as the one did in 1918, so we can't be sure yet how severe or mild this strain is going to be. It looks to me like it's easily transmissible, and probably geographically widespread in Mexico, given that folks who got sick here in the U.S. and elsewhere around the world were traveling in different parts of Mexico, presumably not in a single hot zone.

The Swine Flu Effect

Yes, there is a difference between Tamiflu and Relenza, which are used to treat the symptoms of the flu, and vaccines that are given to prevent the flu. It takes months, as folks have noted above, to produce vaccines, but Novavax may be able to produce one faster. Another company that uses an alternative method of production is Crucell (CRXL).