My Theory On Mexican Swine Flu, er, H1N1 Flu, Fatalities

[Kylyssa]

I thought I'd give my theory on swine flu fatalities occurring in Mexico but not so much elsewhere.  It's not politically correct but hey.

People in Mexico are Mexicans.  They mostly are of Native American descent.  Perhaps they genetically are more vulnerable to this virus.  I'm half Native American myself and it comes with other genetic susceptibilities of which I have several.

[curiosityandthecat]

I think it's also a lot of hype. It's just a flu. It's not even a particularly dangerous form of the flu.

[VanReal]

They closed several entire school districts and daycares here, which is interesting because this is less dangerous than the flu season we have ever year.  Also, my son's district that did not close (much to his dismay) is predominantly Mexican while others that were closing are not.  Interesting.  I've never gotten the flu so I kind of tune out to all of the hype about it, this string included.  But working for a school district I found it interesting how excitable we were getting about something that is affecting so few.  But, now that the Cowboy rookies have no where to practice maybe we'll get back to normal here, that certainly takes priority!

I wonder how many of the deaths in Mexico were of old and young persons, much like the annual deaths attributed to the run of the mill seasonal flu are in the states.  I don't think it's ethnic/race related but immune and age related.

[Whitney]

While I haven't really followed this..I didn't even know about the Swine Flu till my grandmother mentioned it last weekend...I would guess that no more people have died from this type of flu than have died from the strains of flu which went around over the winter.  I don't see what there is to be scared about.  One news group must have started the hype then all the rest felt compelled to cover it since the masses were freaking out and people freaking out sells news.

When they quit reporting single cases of the Swine Flu and start talking about actual mass deaths, then I'll start to get worried.  But, that would probably require a mutation (being that it doesn't seem to be killing people that easily now); something which can happen to any flu or other disease

I guess I'm also not that worried since, for whatever reason, I rarely get the flu.  I did, however, use to get very bad cases of bronchitis twice a year every year up through college.  So, new strains of bronchitis would scare me.  Right now I think I might be immune to all common strains since I haven't gotten sick in about 3 years.

[ProRealism]

Then there's always the stereotype of Mexican people being unsanitary.

I don't know if that's true or not though since I've never been there.

Though I think It's probably inevitable that being around sick animals all day that someone would get sick regardless. There'll probably be something break out in the US the way they keep live stock in squaller conditions. But so goes human life, let's make other organisms miserable for our own convenience and then find petty ways to excuse our behavior. Why don't we all just admit we're callous assholes?

[Whitney]

Then there's always the stereotype of Mexican people being unsanitary.

I don't know if that's true or not though since I've never been there.

Well, there is that stereotype, but it doesn't seem to have much basis.  I live in an area with a large Hispanic population and they seem to be just as clean as anyone else.

[SektionTen]

Actually, that stereotype comes from the fact that impoverished people tend to be less sanitary. Not from any personal habits on their part, just, it's difficult to by disinfectant when you're poor.

Also, Dense population centers tend to be more unsanitary than less dense.  

[ProRealism]

Well, there is that stereotype, but it doesn't seem to have much basis.  I live in an area with a large Hispanic population and they seem to be just as clean as anyone else.

I think that's probably true.

There's nothing genetic about hygiene habits so it's entirely possible. Though I do think it's cultural or as the person above me stated, something to do with poverty and lesser methods of disinfecting.

Either way it could be entirely false altogether.

[Kylyssa]

Stereotypes are lame.  I wasn't trying to put forth a stereotype, just to recognize that people with different genetics have different susceptibilities to diseases.  

People in Mexico know how to treat the flu, they know how to keep clean.  For some reason, whether the virus was more virulent in its earlier incarnation in Mexico, whether the virus mixed tragically with genetic susceptibility, whether it had to do with the different way influenza effects people in warm climates, or whether it was for some other reason it's not because Mexicans are dirty or that their doctors are too incompetent to treat the flu.

People who come up with theses stereotypes have never known the people they are making this stuff up about.  I grew up in a community in which the population nearly doubled every spring when Mexican migrant workers came to pick asparagus, then cucumbers and cherries.  As an outcast child, most of my little friends were the children of migrant workers.  They were the kids whose parents let me come over to play.  The migrant housing was terrible, the houses were little more than shacks - but you could have eaten off the floors of those shacks.

[ProRealism]

Well I wasn't attempting to be racist either, just a suggestion. I've seen things to the contrary of everything.

But over all I still think I would likely blame it on poor living conditions for the animals or just "chance".

There've been plenty of animal to human diseases in other parts of the world. Didn't the avian flu start in the Far East?