Understanding How The Flu Virus Evolved Can Help Protect Us From It

Main Category: Swine Flu
Also Included In: Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses;  Flu / Cold / SARS;  Public Health
Article Date: 28 May 2009 - 7:00 PDT

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As the news of the twelfth confirmed American death from Swine flu breaks and fears mount, we need expert advice fast. Enter William Meller, MD, an expert on evolutionary medicine who brings a unique understanding of the flu virus' evolution and offers invaluable advice for protecting ourselves from it. Meller is the author of the new book Evolution Rx: A Practical Guide to Harnessing Our Innate Capacity for Health and Healing.

Here's just some of what he can discuss:

-- Be prepared, be safe

Purchasing inexpensive masks from the pharmacy, washing with soap and water, and keeping a few days' worth of extra food in the house are the best ways to be prepared and protected.

-- Why the flu virus is like a shape-shifter from a science fiction novel.

"...the flu virus changes its outward appearance rapidly. Shrouded in an ever-varying coat of proteins, like a shape-shifter in a science fiction novel, it cloaks itself to hide from our immune systems," says Meller. He'll offer a lay person's primer on how this helps the flu virus to outsmart our immune systems.

-- Why quarantine is effective and worth the price.

"Quarantine is expensive, inconvenient, and may even deprive some people of their civil rights for a short period. But that price will be miniscule compared to the devastation of a full-blown pandemic caused by a new flu," says Meller. He'll discuss why he supports this controversial measure in certain situations and when he would urge it for the swine flu threat.

-- The evolution of the flu

Meller will offer a reveling glimpse into the past flu pandemics and share what the latest evolutionary research tells us about the history of the flu.

Source
Dr. William Meller

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