Q. What is the H1N1 compared to the regular flu and is H1N1 deadlier than Ebola?
- Shawn, Latexo, Texas
A. The genetic makeup of H1N1, or swine flu, and seasonal flu are different, but many of the symptoms are similar: fever, sore throat, body aches.
Swine flu is a widespread, mostly mild flu that has infected millions of Americans. However, like seasonal flu each year, it has been responsible for thousands of deaths nationwide.
Swine flu, or seasonal flu for that matter, really shouldn't be compared to Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever. Ebola is a rare but often fatal disease that has only appeared sporadically since its discovery in 1976, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It's mostly contracted on the African continent and no cases have ever been reported in the United States, the 1995 Dustin Hoffman movie "Outbreak" (check it out here) notwithstanding.
Still, your question points up the depth of concern over the virus nationwide, which we explored in our Nov. 1 Tampa Tribune story, "Fear spreads faster than swine flu pandemic." Check it out here.
Do you have a question or comment about swine flu that isn't being addressed?
Visit our Swine Flu home page to submit your question, and health writer Mary Shedden will get you the answer.
Helping us track it all down is the Hillsborough County Health Department, which, like us, draws much of its information from the very helpful Web sites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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