Canadian, Mexican flu strains match

[CHIMO]

Canadian government officials announced Wednesday that they had completed the first genetic sequencing of the H1N1 virus.

Dr. Frank Plummer, the head of the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg where the sequencing was done said his team has worked around the clock for the past week to accomplish the world first.

Dr. Plummer said the genetic code of the virus found in Nova Scotia and Ontario was not significantly different to the virus samples from Mexico. That means that the genetic make-up of the virus does not explain the differences in severity between Canadian and Mexican cases, he told a news conference.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090506.wcanflu0506/BNStory/National/home

So what is causing the difference in severity? It is a race to find answers.

[scott75]

1. Possible reasons for the difference in severity...

I think the most probably reason for the difference in severity between Mexico and Canada is that population wise, less canadians suffer from overcrowded areas, malnourishment, bad sanitation and polution isn't as bad as Mexico City, where almost a third of mexicans live; that is, around the population of Canada (30 million) in a single city. Overcrowded areas, malnourishment, polution and bad sanitation lead to weakened immune systems, leaving the population ripe for attack by bacterial scourges. I believe the same could be said for previous, much more severe, epidemics, such as the Black Plague.