Just how dangerous is H1N1 flu. The truth of the matter is no one knows for certain.

Yes there have been deaths but many of those had underlying health issues and we expect hospitalizations and deaths during a regular seasonal flu season. What's most encouraging is the results from developed countries in the Southern hemisphere like Australia and New Zealand who are just coming out of their "flu season". Yes there were deaths and there were a lot of flu cases but in most of them they were mild infections similar to seasonal flu. A study just concluded at the University of Maryland tried infecting ferrets with H1N1 and other strains of flu in an attempt to see if that made it more virulent. In most cases, H1N1 killed the other virus and remained the dominant flu in the animal. However, in the few that had both viruses survive infection moved into the digestive system and deeper into the lungs rather than the throat and nose like a seasonal flu. This is a strong argument to get the seasonal flu shot. While H1N1 targets predominantly the young and young adults, it can be a serious disease for people 65 and older. If a senior contracts the disease their chances of dying from it are 35 times greater than the target demographic of 5 to 24. This year seniors need to be especially aware of flu prevention as they will not be receiving any of the 45 million vaccine shots that will arrive in October. Perhaps the biggest danger will be to our economy and to our day to day living. This strain is highly infectious and millions will get it. That means millions of people at home, and as most of them will be children, millions of adults taking time off from work to care for them. One Canadian study predicts that employers may be facing a 25% to 35% absenteeism rate during the flu season. With that kind of loss in personnel, deliveries of goods and services are going to be strained not to mention the loss of productivity. This could impact individual homes if there are shortages of goods and services like food or gas or pharmaceuticals. While it is unlikely to be any more deadly than seasonal flu, it's infectiousness is a bother and one you have to plan for. Better to make that plan today than after you or a family member becomes sick.